ADAMSON University and Far Eastern University-Diliman will hold the twice-to-beat advantages in the UAAP Season 85 High School Boys’ Basketball tournament after posting almost-identical victories during the last day of the elimination round on Wednesday at the Filoil Ecooil Centre.
The Soaring Falcons will enter the Final Four as the top seed after posting a 78-66 victory over University of Santo Tomas while the Baby Tamaraws notched an 82-66 decision over defending champion Nazareth School of National University.
Adamson will face UST in the semis while FEU-D and NSNU will square off in the other bracket.
The Final Four will begin on Tuesday, March 7, still at the same San Juan venue. The time of the games will be announced on Wednesday.
Adamson Grade 12 forward Carlo Bonzalida took to heart the significance of the game, dropping a career-high 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field with six rebounds and two steals.
“Nung talo namin sa Ateneo, ang dami kong na-realize tulad na kailangan ko mag-step up. Sila Peter (Rosillo), Vince (Reyes), at Matt (Edding), nag-step up na,” said Bonzalida, recalling the 58-55 loss they absorbed to Ateneo High School last Saturday at Paco Arena.
“Ako na lang po yung nawawala sa team namin. Pinakita ko lang kung ano yung kaya ko,” added Bonzalida, who was averaging 7.77 points and 7.23 rebounds prior to the agme.
The Falcons were clinging to a 60-57 lead midway through the final stanza before Bonzalida took charge. The native of Malolos, Bulacan sparked an 18-9 endgame assault with him scoring 10 points.
“This is very important because of the stakes. If we lose, we will be facing the loser of the NU-FEU game. Mabigat yun. Maganda na nag-respond yung players sa pressure,” said Baby Falcons head coach Mike Fermin.
Rosillo and Earl Medina added 14 points apiece while Justine Garcia returned from a team-imposed suspension, tallying 10 points and 10 assists in the victory that gave Adamson a 12-2 record to end the elims.
The Baby Tamaraws, meanwhile, leaned on Grade 12 guard JR Pasaol to break away from the Bullpups.
JR, the younger brother of former University of the East stalwart Alvin, scored 11 of his 22 points in the final frame that saw them turn a 62-53 lead into a 75-55 cushion with 6:42 left in the game.
“Siyempre sobrang laki nitong panalo na ito lalo na para sa confidence ng mga bata heading into the Final Four. But siyempre, expect pa rin namin na babalik yung NU ng mas malakas,” said Baby Tamaraws head coach Allan Albano.
Also scoring 22 points for FEU-D was Dwyne Miranda, son of Tamaraws head coach Denok. Both he and JR also grabbed eight rebounds each as well.
Luke Felipe contributed 10 points, VJ Pre tallied eight rebounds and eight points, while Kirby Mongcopa grabbed 15 boards with seven points, leading FEU-D to a 12-2 finish as well.
Adamson owns a superior plus-4 quotient over FEU-D that gave them top seed.
RJ Colonia was the sole double-digit scorer for the Bullpups, who ended the round at third with an 11-3 record, with 23 points. Reinhard Jumamoy was limited to just nine points on 4-of-22 shooting.
For UST — who will enter the Final Four with an even 7-7 slate, JP Pangilinan led the way with 16 points while Mark Llemit got 13 points.
Meanwhile, De La Salle-Zobel ended its campaign on a high note, sweeping its elimination round series against Ateneo High School, 71-59.
Both the Junior Archers and the Blue Eagles ended their campaign with identical 5-9 records but it will be the former who will finish in fifth place.
For DLSZ head coach Boris Aldeguer, they wanted their end their season by ending their five-game losing streak.
“We wanted to send a statement that we should have been in the top four after our unforgettable loss against UST and our loss against UE,” said Junior Archers head coach Boris Aldeguer, recalling their 81-80 loss to the Tiger Cubs and 82-77 defeat at the hands of the Junior Warriors.
“Of course, we also wanted to send our eight seniors off on a high note,” he continued.
One of DLSZ’s seniors in Rhyle Melencio paved the way for the win, finishing with 20 points and 13 rebounds — his 14th double-double of the season. Kieffer Alas also had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds while Andrei Pabellano added 11 markers.
“Sabi nga nila, matalo na sa lahat, huwag lang sa Ateneo,” said Alas.
Graduating Ateneo guard Lebron Nieto paced the Blue Eagles with 16 points while Grade 11 senior Kristian Porter added 10 points and 10 boards.
University of the East closed out the elimination round with a 71-59 win over University of the Philippines Integrated School.
The Junior Warriors ended their campaign with a 3-11 record while the Fighting Maroons finished their run with 13 straight losses.
“Masaya kasi ito yung babawiin namin pag-alis. Ito yung magiging motivation namin papunta ng college,” said Grade 12 guard Vhon Roldan, who had 18 points, nine rebounds, and two assists in his final high school game.
Drei Gagarin and Andrei De Leon supported Roldan with 17 points for the former and 13 for the latter.
Daryl Valdeavilla paced UPIS with 15 points while graduating big man Kobe Demisana tallied 13 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks, three steals, and two assists.
Demisana’s batchmate Jonas Napalang was limited to just four points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field.
The Scores:
First Game:
ADU 78 – Bonzalida 26, Rosillo 14, Medina 14, Garcia 10, Edding 5, Reyes 2, Abayon 2, Menpana 2, Perez 2, Carillo 1, Culdora 0.
UST 66 – Pangilinan 16, Llemit 13, Bucsit 9, Jumao-as 8, Manding 8, Ayon 5, Esteban 4, Zanoria 3, Bunaflor 0, Naron 0, Tesocan 0.
Quarterscores: 14-14, 36-37, 56-51, 78-66.
Second Game:
FEU-D 82 – Pasaol 22, Miranda 22, Felipe 10, Pre 8, Mongcopa 7, Daa 6, Cabonilas 4, Salangsang 3, Pascual 0.
NSNU 66 – Colonia 23, Jumamaoy 9, Timbang 9, Timbang 7, Yusi 6, Perciano 6, Tagotongan 5, Alfanta 1, Solomon 1, Demetria 0, Usop 0, Herrera 0.
Quarterscores: 12-22, 39-30, 62-53, 82-66.
Fourth Game:
UE 71 – Roldan 18, Gragasin 17, De Leon 13, Duque 6, Reyes V. 5, Caldit 4, Flores 4, Bagro 2, Malonzo 2, Gatchalian 0, Reyes F. 0, Pangilinan 0, Isip 0, Ramos 0.
UPIS 56 – Valdeavilla 15, Demisana 13, Raymundo 7, Villaverde 6, Melicor 6, Gomez de Liano 5, Napalang 4, Jacob 0, Florentino 0, Rosete 0, Cordero 0, Pascual 0, Uvero 0, Mendoza 0.
Quarterscores: 21-13, 36-21, 52-38, 71-56.
